Drayangs

Drayangs are entertainment bars in Bhutan. They typically serve alcoholic beverages, and have a stage on which entertainers dance to and sing songs solicited from or requested by members of the audience. They also serve traditional Bhutanese and Nepali cuisine.^[1][2][3] The songs are usually traditional Bhutanese music or from Bollywood. The majority of entertainers are women. As of 2018, there were 49 drayangs in Bhutan, with 14 located in the capital Thimphu.

Drayang entertainers are usually paid a basic monthly salary, and are allowed to collect extra money from the audience for requested songs.^[4] There is a range of opinions on drayangs in Bhutan. Critics of the venues describe them as shady businesses exploitative of women.^[5] Drayang owners deny that they allow abuse, and state that drayangs generate employment for the entertainers, who would otherwise be unemployed because of lack of opportunity and education.^[1]

On 7 January 2022, the Bhutanese government decided to cease the operation of drayangs in the country through an executive order from the Prime Minister Lotay Tshering, stating "It is time we acknowledge that our women working in drayangs are the most vulnerable. They are sexually objectified and disparaged in communities due to the nature of their job."

There were 60 drayangs in the country that have been closed since the onset of the pandemic in March 2020. Most drayangs are operating as bars today due to the loss of their performers, which they were most known for. These drayangs probably had nearly 1,000 employees, with around 15 in each one. ^[6] There are also new concerns among some Bhutanese people that the laid-off workers of the drayangs will join the sex work industry. ^[7]